US-China Business Council (USCBC) Chairman Craig Allen speaks during a press conference in Washington, DC, the United States, Feb. 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
“I think an interesting question to ask is what if there was no trade war? What if there were no tariffs?” says Craig Allen, noting that without additional tariffs, US exports to China would be much higher than they are now.
WASHINGTON, April 7 (Xinhua) — All 50 U.S. states exported goods and services to China and benefited from the 858,000 U.S. jobs supported by those exports, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC). .
Last year, US merchandise exports to China rose 21% to a record $149 billion, according to the report. The rise in merchandise exports was “good news”, especially in rural states, where Chinese buyers bought soybeans, corn, sorghum, pork and other agricultural products, the group said in a statement. a statement.
Other sectors with strong exports last year included oil and gas, semiconductors, drugs and pharmaceuticals, said the trade group, which represents 260 companies, including some of the most popular U.S. brands. more iconic.
The amount of U.S. services purchased by Chinese customers, however, fell 33% in 2020, the report showed, noting that services export data reveals how “devastating” the COVID-19 pandemic has been for the country. travel industry and American colleges and universities.
A container ship of Chinese company COSCO Shipping docks at a new container terminal at the Port of Long Beach in California, the United States, Aug. 20, 2021. (Xinhua/Gao Chan)
“The employment numbers tell a complicated story,” said USCBC president Craig Allen. “While strong exports of goods have supported jobs in many communities across the country, the collapse of the travel and related service industries has been so severe that the total number of American jobs supported by exports to China fell from a year earlier.”
Allen, who served as deputy assistant secretary for Asia in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration and later deputy assistant secretary for China, noted that there were a record number of China-related legislation in Congress and a general US political atmosphere toward China that is “increasingly negative”.
“No one knows where the US-China relationship will go from here,” Allen said. “The bottom line is that exports to China help a range of industries across the United States stay profitable and competitive.”
“They also support American jobs, from the tourism industry to farmers and ranchers in Iowa, to chip makers in Oregon and makers of innovative drugs in North Carolina,” he added.
While frustrated with the Biden administration’s trade policy, which focuses on defense rather than opportunity, Allen said during a virtual press briefing on Tuesday that he thinks he’s “enough.” remarkable” that exports from China and the United States “have grown quite rapidly”. ” in 2021 despite the additional tariffs remaining in place.
The CMA CGM container ship Marco Polo travels through the port of New York, the United States, May 20, 2021. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)
“I think an interesting question to ask is what if there was no trade war? What if there were no tariffs?” Allen said, adding that without additional tariffs, US exports to China would be much higher than they are now.
In a recent virtual interview with Xinhua, Allen said he was glad the U.S. Trade Representative’s office is reviewing additional tariffs on more than $300 billion in Chinese imports imposed by the Trump administration.
“We have always called for tariff exclusions, tariff reduction with a pathway to eventual tariff elimination,” Allen said, noting that the US government and the Chinese government both have a role to play.
The US entrepreneur said he feared the additional tariffs imposed by the Trump administration could become permanent.
“Permanent tariffs would permanently distort the economic relationship between the United States and China and lead to even more bilateral tension,” Allen told Xinhua. “There are already so many tensions at the ideological level, at the geopolitical level, at the technological level. We really don’t want endless economic distortions.” ■
